Car taxation has these things and while in South Africa BMW created the 333i (E30) to make up for the absence of the iconic M3 (E30), in Portugal and Italy the solution to circumvent the heavy taxes that befell cars with higher displacements, was the BMW 320is.
Much rarer than the most desired M3 (E30) — the 320is produced 2540 units, the M3 (E30) there were 18 843 — the BMW 320is featured a more “domesticated” version of the engine that animated the contemporary M3.
Despite using the S14B20 engine of the M3 (E30), the 320is saw the displacement drop from 2.3 l of the M3 to 2.0 l, to be below the penalizing step of engines with more than 2000 cm3.
As for power, this was fixed at the excellent 192 hp and 210 Nm, a figure that was not ashamed of the 200 hp with which the M3 (E30) originally presented itself. The transmission was in charge of a Getrag 265 gearbox with a short ratio of five relations with the dog-leg stroke (the first gears backwards).
The suspension is also from the M division, but the BMW 320is lacked the panoply of accessories that adorned the M3 bodywork. However, this does not mean that he did not have some details that allowed him to distinguish himself from his “brothers”.
the copy for sale
Once the presentation of the BMW 320is has been made, it's time to let you know better the model that is for sale in Canada.
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Produced on April 11, 1990, this 320is was one of the last to leave the BMW factory in Regensberg. Imported from the US to Canada, its history before immigrating across the Atlantic is anybody's guess — was it imported from Portugal, Italy? We don't know for sure, but there are documents that indicate that, somewhere in its existence, it circulated in Italy.
What we do know is that it has not been a garage classic, being used frequently and already covering 175,000 kilometers. Despite this, both the exterior and the interior are in very good condition, having already been restored.
Almost entirely standard, most concessions to this originality are found in the suspension. The stabilizer bars and springs are from H&R and the Bilstein B6 shock absorbers are also not standard. The end result of these changes was a decrease of about 2.54 cm (one inch) in ground height.
Both the interior and exterior of this 320is well disguise the passing of years and the accumulating of kilometers.
Finally, the original exhaust silencer was also replaced by one from Supersprint. Equipped with options such as the electric sunroof, this BMW 320is also has “luxuries” such as central locking, ABS or electric windows.
By now you're probably wondering about the asking price for this rare BMW. Advertised on the Hemmings website, this BMW 320is is available for $29,900 , about 25 400 euros.